Imaginary
by JeanieBeanie33
Summary: When she did her very worse, it felt the best. Well, except for... Chapter 2: Real.
1. Imaginary

Everything is Disney's, Tim's, Linda's, and Lewis's. Nothing is really mine except the boring, un-italicized words, and even then not very much. (Much...muchier...muchness?)

Author's Note: Words cannot describe how much I love this movie. Or the Mad Hatter. Or his and Alice's relationship (or hints thereof). So I tried to use them to describe said Hatter and Alice relationship. Not sure if that worked out either. If it's horrible I deeply apologize. Let me know, no?

_**Imaginary**_.

© JeanieBeanie33

Memories keep cluttering his m…m….

_I'm investigating things that begin with the letter 'M.'_

…mind? Yes, he was losing it. She wasn't here to bring it back to him, so now it kept galumphing back and forth between…what was he thinking again?

_Have you any idea why a raven is like a writing desk?_

He sees a slice of cake and thinks of her in a little blue dress, one he created just for her.

_I like it!_

To be at his trade again. She had that smile on, dressed in red. Not as good as his, but she looked perfectly lovely. She always did.

_Why are you always either too small or too tall?_

Did she not know she was perfect? Maybe he said the wrong thing.

_What is the hatter with me?_

Why would he say such things? What if that was why she was not coming back? Oh, Frabjous day...

_You won't remember me._

No more Futterwacken when he said that. But then…she said…

_Of course I will. I'll be back before you know it._

Sometimes – Time no longer forsook him, having forgiven him for killing It before, but oh how he wished it would, he could freeze it and wait for her again –

_Of course I will._

– He could sometimes be there once more, before those terrifying moments when he kept watching, wanting to leap out there, snatch the sword, kill the Beast for her, and hold her, knowing she was safe, safe, safe…but she did not falter and she did not let him take her place….

_Off with your head!_

When she did her very worst, that's when it felt the best.

_Callou! Callay!_

Except for those moments at that party, when he finally saw her again after he'd killed Time far too long ago.

_You're back!_

That glorious moment. She had returned to where she belonged. Right next to him, at that table where they first met, only this time she was different.

_Oh it's a good size! It's a great size! _

No longer was she small. Well, when she was the right size.

_It's the real and proper Alice!_

Maybe she was **too **young, and he guessed he could be considered old. Maybe that's why she left.

_Fairfarren, Alice._

Sometimes though. Sometimes she didn't leave. Sometimes she dumped that dreaded vile on the ground and smiled, a happy smile, not a sad, goodbyeing smile. Sometimes he didn't feel quite so…m…mad….

_But I'll tell you a secret: all the best people are._

Reality. What a horrible word. Ripping, tearing, **CLAWIN', CUTTIN', HEART-BREAKIN', ACHIN', RIP IT TEH SHREDS, RIP IT AWEH –**

"_HATTER!"_

Imaginary was so much better. She would come back, wake him up from his tea party in the White Queen's palace, smile at him with that quiet smile and ask for more tea...Oh yes, everything was much better...

_"You were much more...muchier. You've lost your muchness." "My muchness?" "In there."_

...much better, when it was imaginary, in his...already lost head...

_"In there."_

Sometimes he could hear her voice.

"_HATTER!" Hands on his face…_

"_I'm going to miss you when I wake up."_

"_Sometimes I believe in six impossible things before breakfast."_

But it's never sounded quite so real as now….

"Hatter!"


	2. Real

Everything is Disney's, Tim's, Linda's, and Lewis's. Nothing is really mine except the boring, un-italicized words, and even then not very much. (Much...muchier...muchness?) "Almost Alice" served as an excellent inspiration.

Author's Note: Words cannot describe how much I love this movie. Or the Mad Hatter. Or his and Alice's relationship (or hints thereof). So I tried to use them to describe said relationship. Not sure if that worked out either. If it's horrible I deeply apologize. Let me know, no?

_**Real**_.

© JeanieBeanie33

What an odd thing that, whenever she picked up a brush on the ship, she always drew flowers. Sometimes she just traced them, leaving them white. Sometimes she painted them red.

_You could always paint the flowers red._

She couldn't control it, almost. Then again, they reminded her of Underland, and she could really use that right now.

_Have I gone mad?_

What was she doing here anymore, anyway? She'd settled her affairs, made a name for herself.

_Alice, at last._

It hadn't been easy, but she had managed. Just maybe, she was crazy. Mad. Bonkers.

_But all the best people are._

She smiled. Father would have loved the Hatter, loved Underland. He would have believed her if she told him what happened down the rabbit hole.

_I make the path._

She often wondered why it had taken her so long to finally stick up for herself. She had been so timid an awful lot before.

_I've been growing an awful lot lately._

She'd been determined to save him from Red Queen, but she had failed, of course. But he had found his way back, thanks to Chess. He, the Hatter, always had a way of surprising her.

_You could stay._

She had wanted to stay so much. But Mother had needed her, and someone needed to look out for Margaret, and Hamish, at the very least, deserved an answer.

_DOWN WITH THA BLOODEH BIG HEAD!_

Hamish would never have done that for her. She wasn't sure Hamish could even yell.

_You were much more…muchier._

Hamish wouldn't have hidden her from Stayne, or Futterwhackened. He definitely wouldn't have been by her side on the battlefield. That was the Hatter's place anyway.

"_Lost my muchness, have I?"_

The words were out of her mouth. She was talking to herself again. What did she have to lose? The wind was howling; the ship was breaking.

_Off with her head!_

Another flower seemed to sketch itself, thorns and all, and a face. Like one of the roses she had seen when she had returned Underland.

_You got the wrong Alice!_

Hatter had known it was her, even though she, herself, did not.

_That would be I._

They were similar, yet different. He lost himself, screamed, allowed a much darker version of himself to eclipse the side she saw, the side she knew was him.

_It's the right and proper Alice!_

Yet she would always call him back. Likewise, she would retreat into herself, fall silent, allow a weaker version of herself to overshadow the right and proper Alice she should be.

_I cannot help you if you don't even know who you are, stupid girl._

All had seen it in Underland, but only he had pulled her out of it. So she could slay the Jabberwocky and save the world they adored.

_Fairfarren, Alice._

What if she'd hurt him? She made a promise, after all. It had been a while. She didn't think she could bear it if the tables flipped, and he forgot about her, lost to madness.

_You're all late for TEA!_

The familiar jewel-encrusted top of the vial felt warm. She saw that at the bottom still sloshed a few, small, purple drops. She only wished she could say goodbye to her family and Lord Ascot.

_If that is what you choose._

It had been years, but the taste was the same, even as the memories flooded back. She felt a boom crack. Did the ship fall away, or did she?

"_Alice!" A gigantic hand engulfing her own…_

"_Yes, yes – but you would have to be half-mad to dream me up!"_

"_Have you any idea why a raven is like a writing desk?"_

Her heart soared as she saw his tuft of red hair, like she had dreamed, but it was real….

"Hatter!"

* * *

It's a bit longer than Hatter's, but Alice had a lot on her mind, apparently.

For Mareva, as a wedding gift ("A wedding? I love weddings!")


End file.
